Sanjeev Pargal
JAMMU, Mar 19: The Union Ministry for Home Affairs (MHA) has ordered that only those Special Police Officers (SPOs), who have completed three years of services in Police Department, will get Rs 6000 monthly honorarium with effect from January 1, 2016. The Jammu and Kashmir Government had recently proposed to the Centre for uniform scale of the wages being given to the SPOs.
An official order issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs (J&K division) and addressed to Principal Secretary (Home), J&K, RK Goyal and Director General of Police, K Rajendra Kumar, has made it clear that wages of only those SPOs will be doubled (from previous Rs 3000 to Rs 6000), who have rendered three years of regular service to the Police department and there will be no uniform pattern for all the SPOs.
There were 25,474 sanctioned posts of SPOs in Jammu and Kashmir but against them, about 24,000 SPOs have been engaged by the Police Department. Entire honorarium incurred on the SPOs is re-imbursed by the Ministry of Home Affairs to the State Government under Security Related Expenditure (SRE).
After doubling wages of the SPOs from Rs 3000 to Rs 6000 per month with effect from January 1 this year, the MHA had put certain conditions on them. However, the State Government had on February 27 this year, written to the MHA seeking uniform honorarium for all SPOs and waiving off the clause, which had barred the SPOs from full wages of Rs 6000 per month till they attained three years of experience in their job.
According to official communication of the MHA, addressed to H&K’s Home Secretary and the DGP, the Ministry has reiterated that only those SPOs, who have completed three years of service, will get Rs 6000 remuneration per month while those in their first year of service will get only Rs 5000 per month.
After completion of one year of service, the SPOs will be entitled to Rs 5500 per month wages while their wages will go up to Rs 6000 only when they complete three years of regular service in the Police Department.
According to official sources, though number of the SPOs with less than three years of service was very small, still the State Government wanted the Union Home Ministry to adopt uniform pattern of wages for all SPOs as it had initially given an impression that wages of the SPOs have been doubled from Rs 3000 per month to Rs 6000 per month.
Though the announcement fits on the SPOs, who had completed three years of services, those with less than three years of job were left high and dry as they would get only Rs 5000 per month till one year job and Rs 5500 per month till three years of experience. They will become entitled to full remuneration of Rs 6000 per month after completion of three years in the service.
Sources said the State Government could consider bringing all SPOs on uniform scale of remuneration by shedding some funds from its own coffer as number of the SPOs below three years of service was very less. However, it was yet to take a decision on the matter.
An estimated 24,000 SPOs were presently working in the Police Department and nearly 90 per cent of them will get Rs 6000 per month as they have completed three years of service. Rest will get Rs 5000 per months and Rs 5500 per month depending upon their service.
Trending Now
E-Paper
Follow our WhatsApp channel